‘Chinese employer lured me into cyber-terrorism and internet fraud’ – Nigerian job seeker tells court

A Nigerian job seeker, Jacob Lilian, has narrated how her quest for employment at Genting International Co. Limited led her into an alleged internet fraud orchestrated by a Chinese employer, Ling Yang, alias Shoa Ming.

Lilian was the first prosecution witness (PW1) in the case involving Ling Yang, a Chinese national accused of being part of a 792-member syndicate comprising 193 foreigners and 599 Nigerians specializing in cryptocurrency investment and romance scams.

She testified before Justice D.I. Dipeolu of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, detailing how she was unknowingly recruited into a cybercrime syndicate.

“As at November 2024, I was in search of a job and so I joined a WhatsApp group called job update, which was where I got to know about the job that stated customer service and only an address written as No 7 Oyin Jolayemi Street, Lagos. On getting there I was not asked to present any CV or documentations, and when I got in, I was required to sit in front of a computer. I thought I was about to have an online test, but rather I did a speed limit test that was set to be 30 and I got 28,” she said.

She said the interview signalled her introduction into the world of internet scams and cyber terrorism.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting Yang and Genting International Co. Limited on a four-count charge ranging from cybercrimes and cyber-terrorism to impersonation, possession of forged documents, and identity theft, acts punishable under the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act, 2015. 

Yang was apprehended during the EFCC’s sting operation, dubbed “Eagle Flush Operation,” on December 10, 2024.

Chinese internet fraud case: witness testifies

In mid-December last year, Technext reported that the EFCC arrested 792 suspects for their alleged crimes of cryptocurrency investment fraud and online romance scams in what the agency described as “The largest in a day for the agency and a ‘landmark raid.” 

The suspects, comprising 148 Chinese, 40 Filipinos, two Kharzartans, one Pakistani, and one Indonesian while the rest are Nigerians were arrested during a surprise operation to their hideout in a seven-story edifice known as Big Leaf Building, on No.7, Oyin Jolayemi Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, following a tip-off and verified intelligence.

According to EFCC, the suspects carefully selected their hideout, as it could be easily mistaken for the corporate headquarters of a financial establishment. The foreigners also trained their Nigerian accomplices in how to dazzle around investment and romance scams while using the Nigerians’ identities as a cover-ups. Lilian appears to be one such trainee.

Led in evidence by EFCC counsel, Hanatu U. KofarNaisa, Lilian identified Yang as one of the Chinese employees working on the seventh floor of the company’s building. She recounted that in November 2024, she was actively searching for a job when she stumbled upon a WhatsApp group called “Job Update.” It was through this platform that she discovered a customer service job opportunity at an address on No. 7 Oyin Jolayemi Street, Lagos.

Upon arriving at the company, she was not required to present a curriculum vitae or any documentation. Instead, she was asked to sit in front of a computer and take a speed test, which she initially failed but was encouraged to improve. Without any formal hiring process or offer letter, she was given the job and later provided with accommodation on Lagos Island by the company, but the job she signed up for was far from legitimate.

“At first, I was given scripts to read, scripts with a name, Alani Thomas. My job was to chat with Europeans on WhatsApp, pretending to be this person, Alani Thomas,” Lilian recounted.

Her role involved building rapport with European targets over three days, after which her Chinese supervisors would take over the conversations, presumably to execute the scam.

She revealed that her salary was N250,000 per month and that employees had assigned seats and computers. Despite wanting to resign upon realizing the fraudulent nature of the job, she found it nearly impossible to leave. Employees were strictly monitored, escorted between office and accommodation by security personnel, and required to submit their phones before beginning their daily work.

“The EFCC arrest was a saving grace for me,” she stated in court, implying that without the law enforcement intervention, she might have remained trapped in the operation.

Meanwhile, the EFCC prosecution counsel applied for an adjournment to tender computer evidence containing the scripts used for scamming victims. Justice Dipeolu granted the adjournment and scheduled April 11, 2025, for the continuation of the trial.